In this episode of Femmecult Radio, I interview writer, filmmaker, artist and all around effective troublemaker, Jex Blackmore. She is well known for her confrontational performance art pieces which are usually held in civic spaces. Her work addresses the links between moral religious rhetoric, sexuality, and political policy. [Religion] is a powerful form of manipulation where even the act of questioning is deemed sinful and something you can be condemned to an eternity of punishment for. It has a profound effect on the capacity for people to be curious, and inquire and challenge the established power structure. From Femmecult Radio Episode 018, Interview with Jex Blackmore “Sanctions of the Cross” was a response to an anti-choice protest held at a Planned Parenthood location in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Good Friday. The procession was a testament to the burden of oppressive mandates endured by women who are forced to consider the religious opinions of the legislature while making personal family planning decisions. (from www.jexblackmore.com) She has often been the target of protest by the Catholic Church for her outspoken and confrontational work. She has also been called a tireless crusader for bodily autonomy, in that her work seeks to interrogate oppressive social institutions and ideas that undermine reproductive rights, and the freedom of women to choose what happens to their own bodies. She has been featured in many publications including TIME, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, NPR, Cosmopolitan and Salon, and was featured in the 2019 documentary “Hail Satan?” Her reproductive rights advocacy has ranged from disrupting anti-choice rallies to debating the Westboro Baptist Church and her recent exhibition in Detroit, “Sex Militant”, was listed as one of the best art exhibitions of 2019 by the Chicago Reader. …you have this systemic oppression of people who are not white men in particular, and white men are elevated to the status of the most powerful, the most wealthy, the most successful and then godly even, and it’s impossible to say that doesn’t have a profound impact on people’s valuation of themselves and societal value.From Femmecult Radio Episode 018, Interview with Jex Blackmore MARCH FOR LIFE: “THE DIGNITY OF EVERY HUMAN LIFE”Political Performance, 2019“The Dignity of Every Human Life,” provided a concurrent response to the March for Life. The performance represented the sting of each degrading insult, each contradiction, and each celebratory roar at the expense of the “unmothers” who have been deemed less than those who have had the means and desire to have children. (from www.jexblackmore.com) In 2020, her endurance film “An Undue Burden”, that premiered at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, interrogates barbaric, abusive state legislation that forces women to wait 24 hours or more following initial counseling by abortion providers before receiving the procedure. In this interview we talk about the importance of building supportive communities in hostile environments, the problem with moral frameworks that divide people, and the harm caused by oppressive systems require citizens to conform to ideologies that do not address practical realities of everyday life. Thanks for listening! (Podcast available on iTunes, Spotify and Stitcher too..) The church has created a system where what is evil is people expressing their free will…From Femmecult Radio Episode 018, Interview with Jex Blackmore Jex Blackmore Visit Jex Blackmore...

Ava Delay is a Berlin-based DJ who moved to Berlin over 6 years ago to immerse herself in German culture, and specifically German electronic music. She is most often a vinyl DJ, who has been collecting and spinning records for the better part of 15 years. Her style ranges from techno to electronica, downtempo to pop, or whatever seems to fit the mood. Check out her end of the decade mix for Femmecult and get acquainted with her by reading our interview with her below. Thanks for tuning in. Happy 2020! Ava Delay 2019 Femmecult: How did you get into DJing initially, and what drew you to the electronic music genre in particular? Ava Delay: I started out as a radio DJ at KPSU in Portland. I found my way to electronic music through electro / rock crossover bands like The Faint and Adult. and very weird experimental electronic sounds / field recordings. I got interested in electropop and electroclash and slowly found my way to techno. Before that I was mostly into punk music, so I appreciated the punk attitude of experimental electronic and techno music. In the early days, this music was made on relatively cheap machines and parties were underground. It was just like, find some gear, find an empty space, find a bunch of people who want to go crazy and stay up all night, fuck the police. Femmecult: You moved from Portland, OR to Berlin over 7 years ago. Tell us how each city has uniquely affected your relationship to music. Ava Delay: The difference between these two cities is that Portland has a very small, tight knit community of people supporting electronic music and Berlin is overrun with ravers and party tourists. In Portland, you practically have to...

Beats by Girlz is a non-traditional music technology curriculum, collective and community founded in 2012 by Erin Barra, who is an Associate Professor at the berklee college of music. The program was launched to empower young women in music technology by providing access to tools, guidance and role-support in order to develop their interest and career opportunities in music production and composition, and engineering. BBG has chapters all over the world, including NYC, Los Angeles, Berlin, Madrid and more. In this episode of Femmecult Radio, Christina Broussard (SciFiSol Music) is in conversation with three facilitators of the Minneapolis chapter of Beats by Girlz: Christine Hoberg, Christin Light and Tanya Leigh, all of whom are also accomplished electronic musicians. Please join us for an exciting conversation about how the BBG collective functions to provide creative opportunities to their community, and the wonderful effects on the lives of those involved with the program. At the end of the podcast, we will highlight the creative backgrounds this episode’s guests and more about what brought them to working with Beats by Girlz. Thanks for listening! Subscribe to Femmecult Radio on Mixcloud, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and more Tracks in the episode in order of appearance:wk-es – Two (Axkan + Tanya Leigh Remix)Christin Light – SL (Radio Edit)Christine Hoberg – New in the Morning (live at Daytrotter) Here’s more on our episode guests: Tanya Leigh Tanya Leigh BBG Los Angeles Tanya Leigh is a DJ, producer, engineer, teacher and co-founder of OMEN Recordings. She has an extensive career in music and the techno scene. In 1998 she discovered the sound of techno and started supporting events in the Minneapolis underground dance scene. From 2009-2016 she was 1/2 of the duo known as Complicit, (DJ & Live techno music). The pair...

Gudrun Gut 2018 Gudrun Gut has been an activist in the underground music world since the late 1970s, and with a music career that spans 4 decades, she is a force to be reckoned with. Her expansive discography is comprised of some of the most engaging and influential work to come out of electronic music, and her latest solo album, Moment, was released in December of 2018 on her Monika Enterprise label. A prolific artist, she’s dabbled in everything from post-punk to techno, was cofounder of the legendary band Malaria! with Bettina Köster, was an original member of Einstürzende Neubauten, and has directed 2 seminal record labels, Monika Enterprise and Moabit Musik. Gudrun Gut, 1978 Throughout her career, she’s been a staunch advocate for a gender equality and has fought for feminist ideals to great effect. Please join us for an intimate conversation with Gudrun Gut, where we touch on everything from her history in self-directed artistic motivation to the political importance of reigning in music industry gatekeepers to finding a production process that works in the moment, among other intriguing topics. The interview was conducted in Berlin in May of 2019. Thanks for listening! Gudrun Gut Be brave. Nobody wants what is already there.Gudrun Gut, 2019 Please subscribe and listen to the Femmecult podcast on Mixcloud, iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher and our hosted episode page. About the interviewer: Christina Broussard aka SciFiSol is an electronic musician and visual artist, writer and interviewer, and founder of Femmecult Magazine. Her work spans the genres of experimental electronic pop, darkwave and techno. She is a live performer, vocalist and DJ, and is also ½ of techno duo, Camino Acid. For more information please visit her online at www.scifisol.net Additional commentary appearing in the interview from Berlin-based DJ,...

Emily Esperanza is a non-binary filmmaker and artist whose work questions the conventional narrative of storytelling to bring progressive ideas into focus. Their work has been screened at festivals all over the United States and has won many awards of excellence. Their 2018 film Make Out Party was the official selection for several film festivals including the Las Vegas Queer Arts Festival, and also winning the award for most innovative short film at the 23rd Annual TWIST Seattle Queer Film Festival in Seattle, WA. Make Out Party (2018) Esperanza is currently working on a feature length film called LOTERÍA, drawing from experience producing films that explore themes of youthful rebellion and the celebration of underground culture. Our conversation gets into everything from the importance of presenting familiar archetypes and heros clothed in different skin to their experiences of developing and listening to intuition while on set. Please join me, your host Christina Broussard aka SciFiSol Music, for this conversation with an innovative young filmmaker who uses their brilliant directorial eye to create works that have already been compared to many notable cult film directors of underground cinema. Take a look at Esperanza on Vimeo as well for more information about her work. Thanks for listening! You can subscribe and listen to the Femmecult podcast on Mixcloud, iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher and our hosted episode page. Make Out Party (2018) Additional credit for material used in the podcast: Make Out Party (2018) and SPIDER AND FLY (2013). The song featured in the excerpt of MOP is ‘Riot’ by Glamour...

Anna Jordan is a trans-disciplinary artist based in Berlin, who focuses her work in the digital electronic realm as a painter, video artist and electronic musician. Her auditive work is released under her moniker, The Allegorist, for which she has 2 albums out now, and she is quoted as saying its format mixes all styles and genres and sets no limitations… Anna Jordan, The Allegorist Her most recent album was released in 2018, on Detroit Underground, is called Hybrid Dimension I a full length audio visual masterpiece that features music videos for each track on the album. One of which is being screen at international film festivals, and is entitled Humandroid Lovers, so please find time to view that before or after the podcast to expose yourself to a beautiful example of her work. We are so excited to have her on the podcast in which she talks about her inspirations, perseverance, some technical aspects of her productions, and her artistic motivations. Thanks for listening! You can subscribe and listen to the Femmecult podcast on Mixcloud, iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher and our hosted episode page. Find Anna Jordan online: www.annajordanproject.com...

With a dark sound that takes synth music into orphic dimensions, Beta Evers has been making and releasing music since the 90s. Her message captures the essence of the forgotten realms of early underground synth wave, and explores themes of existential angst, sensuality and subversiveness that have all but been swallowed up by commercial pop music. She’s released her own and other artists’ music on her labels which include Kommando 6, BodyVolt, and Venus Noir (a label devoted to female artists), and other record labels over the years, as a solo project in addition to various collaborations. You may have heard her voice in a dance club over some dark beat because her music is so easy to fit the mood and mix into genres ranging from techno, electro, experimental electronic and even rock music. But, her work transcends every genre it examines, and tells a unique multi-layered story. Femmecult is happy to present an interview with artist and composer, Beta Evers (Brigitte Enzler). Femmecult: What are your current musical projects and record labels that you are actively involved with these days? Beta Evers: After releasing 2 1/2 EPs with solo works within the last 12 months, I am now in a phase where I will let my solo activities rest for a longer time. Currently I am working on a collaborative project with Alek Stark and another one with Heinrich Mueller. Besides I am involved in the sporadic long time project Radikale Analog Fraktion. At this moment we just play and test ideas without having any concrete release plans. Femmecult: How do you divide your time between running record labels and composing music? Beta Evers: The record label is not that demanding because I release only 1 record per year. There are maybe...

Darkswoon is an electronic shoegaze band out of Portland, Oregon, the primary musical outlet of Jana Cushman. The band performs live as a duo, an energetic show that has Cushman on guitar, effects and vocals and Christian Terrett on electronics. In Cushman’s own words, “Darkswoon builds sonic landscapes from the foundation of loops and beats, layered with intricate effected guitar, harmonized looping vocals, and synths to create a transcendent texture of music.” The band’s second release, a 4 song EP entitled Silhouettes has turned quite a few heads for its flawless execution of the best parts of a teenage ripped-jean rebellion, and capturing the energy of that one enigmatic band from the old days that you just can’t forget. We caught up with Cushman to find out more about her songwriting process and what drives such a compelling sound. Isn’t it true that the best music so often goes unheard? Let it not be true for Darkswoon! Read on and be sure to watch the video that was produced for her song ‘Necromancer’, filmed in and around the lovely graveyards of Portland, Oregon. Femmecult: How did you get into making music? Did it start at a young age, and/or was it born of interest in other forms of art? Darkswoon: I use music to work through problems in my life and this is how I started writing music, as a way of therapy or my own version of praying. Putting an issue out into the universe and harvesting creative energy is the most effective coping mechanism I’ve been able to develop. That is how I started writing music, not so intentionally but more so in order to survive being young and fucked up. I grew up playing guitar and had a very musical family....

Portland self-described ‘Electrohaze’ artist Darkswoon (Jana Cushman) makes brooding tunes that get deep inside your head. She blends gritty exotic guitar melodies with sharply danceable distorted beats– an electrifying foundation for soaring vocals that peak into your soul. A magic light emanating from the fog and the trees, her sound is not one that is easily forgotten. Check out this music video featuring a track off of Darkswoon’s most recent release Silhouettes, Necromancer by Portland, OR video artist Christina Broussard. Visit Darkswoon online:...

Fiona Soe Paing has just released an impressive 12 song debut, via Colliderscope Records, complete with visual art by Zennor Alexander to accompany it. Alien Lullabies has been getting rave reviews and it’s no surprise. Her unique sound channels a super funky futuristic blues-tronic vibe that sets itself apart in an effortless blending of styles. Soe Paing has an impressive grasp on storytelling through song and ‘Ballad of the Two Sisters‘ is one example, in which her expressive voice and lyrics capture a longing and sadness that allude to a haunting tale we can only continue to unravel within our own imaginations. It’s this type of cinematic minimalism that is so alluring; with just a taste our senses can’t help but be enveloped by her sound. Soe Paing draws from a rich sonic palette merging well thought out sound design and electronics, with traditional instruments that make for a quite hypnotic strain of electronica. She captures a playful vibe on ‘Roller Ghoster’ showing that she has an easy grasp on the genre of dance music, yet takes it a step further by deconstructing the arrangement to create the aural simulation of being on a carnival ride. Read an interview with her on her creative process from Creative Scotland. Soe Paing is also a part of the Female Pressure network and talks about the importance of bringing more attention to female artists in her recent guest article on Female First Magazine. Alien Lullabies is available to purchase on all the major digital outlets, and you can also get physical copies via her bandcamp page. Have a listen and support this fantastic work of art....

DJ Shiva is an techno artist with 2 decades of experience behind the decks and many quality releases to her credit on labels including Dystopian Rhythm, 611 Records, Different Is Different, Translucent, Gynoid Audio, and Chroma. Known far and wide as a tastemaker to reckon with, she runs the bi-monthly SubTerror Radio show, which is moving into it’s fifth year hosting the top names in techno from all over the world. We got a chance to speak with her about how she began so long ago, and what continues to inspire her dedication to this art form. Always outspoken and insightful, she also shares her thoughts and experiences on the electronic music industry and what is helping and hurting its progress in terms of leveling the playing field for all artists, especially women. In the podcast we’ll share bits and pieces of her music including her latest release on Detroit Underground under the moniker .noncompliant. Please join us for this fascinating conversation. Connect with DJ Shiva online. Twitter: @djshiva https://www.facebook.com/djshivamusic/ Tracklisting used in podcast: DJ Shiva – In Bloom .noncompliant. – Airless Spaces .noncompliant. – Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum .noncompliant. – Ailed/Delia DJ Shiva – Whomp Rat Kroman Celik – Krater (DJ Shiva Remix)...

Last year I got the opportunity to attend Mutek Montreal and interview Dasha Rush. I’ve been a huge fan of hers for several years now. She is the consummate artist, exploring a fascinating range of territories in her work with innovation and style. She performs live and DJs, and also does a live A/V performance. Her styles of composition range from dark dance floor techno to experimental electronica with spoken word. She heads up 2 successful record labels, Full Panda for the more rhythm oriented work, and Hunger to Create (on the same website) for things of a more of an experimental nature. Her touring schedule is relentless and this year she’s back at Mutek Montreal with 2 performances. In the interview we discuss her musical process and songwriting techniques, and the value of simplicity in creative work, as well as a bit about her personal experiences in the electronic music industry. We start out with some technical questions about her setup. Thanks for reading! Femmecult: When you began making music, did you get started with gear or software? Dasha Rush: Software. I mean there was a bit of gear but it was software and I didn’t have any of my own in the beginning, of course. It was from friends.. and people who were lending me things to try out, but yeah I started with Cakewalk and sampling things, usually with samples and then I used Fruity Loops for a while and then slowly developed try different things. I still partially use hardware, but mostly software. Femmecult: I’ve seen some videos of you working with modular synth. Dasha Rush: I’m not really into modular synth. I’ve tried and I have interest but it’s not like something that I do now. Now it’s developed...

DJ Mag, a monthly British publication featuring electronic music and DJs has come under fire recently for their 25 year anniversary special featuring 25 pioneers of dance music of the last quarter century, where not one woman was deemed worthy of inclusion. It’s not very surprising coming from a magazine that holds reader poll based top 100 DJ contests where year after year less than a handful of women ever make the cut. But this anniversary feature was not poll based. It was fully in the hands of the editors to decide. You would think that a magazine that touts itself as the “global voice of dance music” would be a bit more inclusive to women instead of playing up the brofest sausage party. Sadly, this was not the case, although hurried apologies and promises to do better next time have been issued, in a feeble attempt to fix what in hindsight has been called a bad PR move by the magazine. Here was a great opportunity to be cultural innovators and use their voice to bring attention to the contributions of women, but they dropped the ball, or maybe they never actually picked it up. How many times throughout history have tallies and lists been made of pioneers in art, music, science or any other field of study that have systematically excluded women? This is why it’s called history, and not herstory. Women have been doing the work alright, but have been consistently relegated to the shadows of pop culture by false positives like DJ Mags top 25 list. The fact is that DJ Mag is not enough of a pioneer itself to address the issues of inequality within the music industry that would help to propel it toward the status of authority...

CMD aka Cyan (Corina MacDonald) is an electronic music maker and radio host based out of Montreal, Quebec. She’s been producing Modular_Systems on CKUT 90.3 FM for over a decade now, all of which are diligently archived on her website going back to 2004. With several releases out on labels such as Fur Trade and Basic Sounds and a live performance at the 2015 edition of MUTEK, she’s been building a reputation for quality output. We got a chance to pick her brain a bit about what got her into making music and her processes. She has done a DJ mix exclusively for Femmecult which you will find below the interview. Thanks for reading! Femmecult: How did you get into making music, and at what age did you become interested in electronic music specifically? CMD: I never studied music formally, except for some sporadic guitar lessons as a teenager. I think my interest in making electronic music came out of a trajectory related to radio, sound editing and DJing. I started getting seriously into electronic music in my early twenties, after spending some time in Scotland and then relocating to Montreal from Calgary. Moving around and being exposed to different music scenes was really exciting and motivated me to get more involved. Femmecult: Did you have an underground collective or group of friends, or support networks that first influenced you to pursue this field of interest? CMD: Shortly after moving to Montreal I started volunteering at CKUT, and many of the first friends I made here were DJs and producers, so music has been the common factor in much of my social life. I’ve founded a couple of different collectives over the years with friends as a way to collaborate and organize events that...

This year’s MUTEK Montreal shaped up to be an entertaining time. In addition to stellar acts, top notch sound, and beautiful performance spaces, there were also a ton of interesting workshops and Q&As happening that made for a quite immersive experience.

Year One is an impressive debut EP from the burgeoning electronic duo out of Portland, Oregon. The album is dark, with expressive melodics– an introspective collection of songs that showcases the emotion of Cushman’s gritty voice.

Midnight Magic is a nine piece live disco band based out of New York City that features Tiffany Roth on vocals, and is comprised of a horn section, keyboardist, guitarist, bassist, and a live drummer and percussionist. They give a excitingly modern perspective on retro space disco.

This in depth interview features 2 live performance videos of Midnight Magic performing in New York City at The Cameo Gallery. In the interview, Tiffany talks about her history and training as a vocalist, some of her influences, and also goes into how Midnight Magic develops song material including compositional techniques and touches on their creative process. Please tune in to this entertaining conversation that gives a glimpse into the evolution of an artform from the perspective of the charismatic and talented front woman, Tiffany Roth.

A DJ and producer known for her signature style of mashup that excludes few genres, the mixes of Experimental Housewife take the listener on a trip to the outer reaches of expectation. You may also have seen her name in print, as a music reviewer for the Berlin based No Fear of Pop blog as well as exploring topics surrounding the recent uproar regarding women in electronic music.

Femmecult interviews San Francisco based electronic music composer and live performer, Cherushii (Chelsea Faith.) In this audio interview/podcast she shares a bit of her history honing her craft and some of her production techniques. Tracks from her latest EP Queen of Cups, out on Los Angeles based label 100% Silk are also featured in the podcast.